1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of luggage construction, and in particular to a protective and supportive element for luggage, contoured to define a protective bumper pad for mounting at opposite ends of an article of luggage. Integral feet space the base of the luggage from any underlying surface. The elements protect the area at the lower edges of the luggage sidewall from wear and impact, while supporting the contour of the luggage adjacent the bottom and sidewall.
2. Prior Art
Many articles of luggage are provided with feet to protect against wear. Typically the feet are defined by discrete projecting button-like formations that are individually attached at each of the four corners of the base of an article of luggage. Examples of luggage feet of this kind embodied in plastic, attached individually to the base of an article of luggage by means of fasteners, are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,950,793-Axtell and 2,895,574-Koffler. In each case, the feet are separate and discrete structures which are individually attached. The feet serve to protect the base of the luggage by spacing the base from any surface on which the article of luggage is placed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,484-Delaney teaches a foam rubber protective strip which is adhesively attached to an article of luggage at any chosen point, preferably at spaced points all around the sidewalls of the luggage. In a manner similar to the foregoing patent disclosures of discrete spaced feet, the protective strips in the Delaney patent are not connected to one another except by virtue of being attached to the same article of luggage, which is of a rigid box construction. There is no structural benefit to the luggage derived from using these protective feet.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,191,677-Dorris; 2,532,154-Duskin; and, Des. 76,279-Baetz disclose protective strips which extend transversely around a corner of an article of luggage rather along the edge, namely along a strip on the base and sidewalls adjacent the base, in the area of the corners and lowermost edge. The strips are added-on layers of the same material comprising the bag, e.g., leather. Such flexible-layer protectors minimize abrasion damage of the underlying layers of the bag; however, the surfaces of the protective strips themselves wear, fray and otherwise become unsightly. A simple layer of leather likewise does not support the shape of the bag.
Flexible bags of this type may be made of simple fabric, the shape of the bag being maintained by a skeleton of wire reinforcing supports, defining the outlines of a box. The wire supports are sewn into the seams between the adjacent wall panels. The wire supports at least initially are effective, but if the bag should be crushed the supports can be deformed, and are difficult or impossible to straighten again. If skeletal supports are not used, then the bag may seem unacceptably flimsy. Typically the wire supports are enclosed in piping sewn along the edges of the bag, where the piping also provides some protection to the edges of the bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,967,160-Plotkin discloses a flexible protective outer strip which is sewn onto the article of luggage along the lowermost corner and part way around the corners of the base. Plotkin's protective strip is used together with discrete feet; however, the strip is not structurally or integrally attached to the feet. On the contrary, although Plotkin employs strips of angle iron to reinforce the corner between the sidewalls and the base, the feet and/or protective strip are not connected to the angle iron, the angle iron having a gap to allow space for the feet to be attached to the luggage material via fasteners through the protective flexible strip.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,656-Kashinski discloses a protective strip which extends around right angles adjacent a midpoint of the luggage top, bottom and ends. A removable bumper band protects the article of luggage at the abutting edges of a hinged top and bottom. Kashinski's strip is not directly attached to the luggage and in fact could not readily be attached without fixing the halves of the luggage together or at least obstructing their opening and closing.
In the event discrete feet are individually connectable to an article of luggage and/or if a flexible strip is separately attached to an article of luggage adjacent the junction between the base and sidewall or adjacent the feet, production steps are required for attaching together each of the items to be included.
There is a need to incorporate both protective strips and feet in an easily manufactured and installed luggage element, the protective strips protecting the luggage from impact and the feet not only protecting from impact but also spacing the base of the luggage above any surface on which the luggage is rested. Underlying surfaces may be wet, dirty or otherwise inappropriate for contact with the base of the luggage. There is also a need to structurally support the various portions of an article of luggage, in particular to retain a defined shape in more-or-less flexible articles of luggage in a manner that allows the articles to be crushed and then causes them to resume proper shape. While numerous disclosures of feet and protective strips appear in the prior art, the art fails to provide a structurally supportive integral foot and protective pad device which will protect and reinforce an article of luggage.